To ensure complete impartiality in selection of recipients, all aspects of the scholarship application process (including selection) are managed by International Scholarship and Tuition Services, Inc. (ISTS), a firm that specializes in managing sponsored scholarship programs.

Who is eligible to apply?

High school seniors (12th graders) applying for the CHET Advance Scholarship must meet all the following criteria to be considered eligible:

You must be a high school senior graduating no later than July 1, 2019

You must have a grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above

You must attend a high school located in Connecticut-- OR --You must be home schooled in Connecticut-- OR --You or your parent/guardian must maintain legal residence in Connecticut while you attend a school outside of Connecticut

You must intend to begin a higher education program (undergraduate degree, vocational/technical program, etc.) no later than September 30, 2020

High school freshman (9th graders) applying for the CHET Advance 9 Scholarship must meet all the following criteria to be considered eligible:

You must be a high school freshman (in the 9th grade)

You must attend a high school located in Connecticut-- OR --You must be home schooled in Connecticut-- OR --You or your parent/guardian must maintain legal residence in Connecticut while you attend a school outside of Connecticut

You must intend to begin a higher education program (undergraduate degree, vocational/technical program, etc.) no later than September 30, 2023

Note: Any otherwise eligible student whose parent is, or if the student resides in the household of, an employee of the Office of the State Treasurer, TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing Inc., The Hartford or ISTS is ineligible to participate in the CHET Advance Scholarship, if such employee provides direct support to the CHET Advance Scholarship or, in the case of employees of The Hartford, its 529 programs.

Previous recipients of a CHET Advance 9 Scholarship are not eligible to reapply in their senior year.

Limit on applications: there is no limit for the total number of completed applications that can be submitted by all eligible students for the CHET Advance Scholarship or CHET Advance 9 Scholarship; however, each eligible student may only submit one (1) completed application.

Answer the eligibility questions on the Start Page to be directed to the correct application

Complete the online application form

Upload a copy of your transcript (high school seniors only)

Submit your application

What are the selection criteria?

Winners will be selected from all eligible applicants who submit a complete entry form to participate in the Drawings before the deadline of 5:00pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 2, 2018. The drawings will be held sometime after the October 2, 2018 deadline and will be conducted by ISTS. If it is determined at any time after the Drawing that a selected winner does not meet the eligibility requirements as set for above, the selected winner will be disqualified, and an alternate winner will be randomly selected.

Decisions are final and are not subject to appeal. A selected winner who does not meet the eligibility requirements will be disqualified and an alternate winner will be randomly selected.

What are the details of the award?

CHET Advance Scholarship (high school seniors):

Up to 100 one-time scholarships in the amount of $2,500 will be awarded to high school seniors through a random drawing of all eligible students who complete an online application before the program deadline.

To ensure there are winners across the state:

There will be five (5) drawings from the Category 1 applicant pool – one drawing for each of Connecticut’s five Congressional Districts. For each Congressional District, fifteen (15) winners will be selected from the Category 1 applicant pool.

If less than fifteen applications are received for any Congressional District for either grade, then winners will be selected from the pool of eligible applications received in any given District and category.

For the Category 2 applicant pool, twenty-five (25) winners will be selected. A maximum of five winners may be from any one school.

Please refer to the program rules for additional information regarding school categories.

CHET Advance 9 Scholarship (high school freshmen):

The Sponsor will set aside a $2,000 scholarship award for up to 100 high school freshmen selected and verified by ISTS. Each winner will also have the opportunity to receive an additional $500 match, for a total potential award of $2,500.

To qualify for the match, the recipient’s parent, guardian or other individual must open an individual CHET 529 college savings account, with the student winner named as Beneficiary of the account, and must contribute $500 or more to the account by May 30th of the student’s senior year of high school.

To ensure there are winners across the state:

There will be five (5) drawings from the Category 1 applicant pool – one drawing for each of Connecticut’s five Congressional Districts. For each Congressional District, fifteen (15) winners will be selected from the Category 1 applicant pool.

If less than fifteen applications are received for any Congressional District for either grade, then winners will be selected from the pool of eligible applications received in any given District and category.

For the Category 2 applicant pool, twenty-five (25) winners will be selected. A maximum of five winners may be from any one school.

Please refer to the program rules for additional information regarding school categories.

The scholarships must be applied toward any qualified higher education expenses, such as tuition, fees, books and required supplies or equipment at eligible education institutions, which generally include accredited, postsecondary education institutions offering credit toward a bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree, or another recognized postsecondary credential, including certain proprietary institutions and postsecondary technical and vocational schools and certain institutions in foreign countries.

Students may transfer from one institution to another and retain the award.

What are Category 1 and Category 2 schools?

For both grade groups, winners will be selected from two categories:

CATEGORY 1: Students who attend a public, private, or parochial Connecticut high school; or attend a public, private, or parochial school outside of Connecticut and either the student or one of the student’s parents or guardian resides in Connecticut; or are home-schooled in Connecticut.

CATEGORY 2: Students who attend an identified Turnaround or Focus high school. There are forty (40) schools as defined by the State Department of Education, including:

You may update your final school choice on the My Profile page at https://aim.applyISTS.net. If you are chosen to receive an award, it will be your responsibility to make sure your college is updated at least 30 days prior to the check issue date stated in the award notification so your check can be issued accordingly. This will not update any application or acceptance forms; however, all awards are issued based on the My Profile page.

Allow five to seven business days after uploading documents for your online status to update. You may monitor the status of your application on your home page at https://aim.applyISTS.net.

Started: items are needed or are being processed. To see the items, click the grey or yellow ‘Started’ tile next to the application title. This will open another box listing all required items and the current status of each.

Complete: all required forms and attachments (if applicable) have been received and your application will be considered for the scholarship.

You may also monitor the status of your attachments (if applicable).

Not Received: the attachment has not been received.

Processing: the attachment has been received and is being reviewed.

Rejected: the attachment was not accepted and has been rejected.

Accepted: the attachment has been verified and accepted by ISTS.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to monitor the progress of all application requirements to make sure the application is complete. The status Complete will display on the home page when all forms have been submitted and all documents have been verified.

You upload a file with the same name as one that has already been accepted.

You upload a file with the same name as one that is waiting to be processed.

Example: You upload your school transcript file and then try to upload the same file with the same name for your test scores requirement because your scores were on it. You simply need to rename the file to upload it again so that it may be processed as your test scores.

Official transcripts must be obtained through your high school administration office. These transcripts are normally printed on official letterhead and/or state that they are official. These may contain a signature.

Note: Your official transcript may come to you in a sealed envelope, stating it will become unofficial if opened. When scanning or copying your official transcripts, a watermark may appear noting they are now unofficial. Despite any watermarks or sealed envelopes, you may open the envelope if needed to upload the document. These documents will still be considered official for our purposes. When scanning or copying, you do not need to include a copy of the sealed envelope.

Unofficial transcripts may be accessed through your school’s online student portal. These pages must still be converted to one of the acceptable file formats. There are free tools available that will allow you to save various documents (including web pages) as a PDF. Unofficial transcripts must contain your name and the school name and contact information.

The required supporting documents must be uploaded to your online application by the application deadline. If you do not follow the upload instructions exactly, your application may not be considered. Documents that meet the criteria required for the scholarship application, and are uploaded by the deadline, will be processed and considered on time.

Notifications are sent to recipients and applicants not selected to receive an award via email by the end of October. For recipients, an Acceptance link will be displayed on the home page following the notification.

A list of recipients will be available at www.chetadvance.com after all drawings are complete and all winners are verified.

Note: Your email address will only be used to communicate with you about your scholarship applications or other opportunities administered by ISTS for which you may be eligible to apply. We will not provide your email address to any third parties.

All recipients must accept their awards by 11:59pm Eastern Time on Thursday, November 29, 2018.

CHET Advance Scholarship recipients must begin their post-secondary program no later than September 30, 2020.
CHET Advance 9 Scholarship recipients must begin their post-secondary program no later than September 30, 2023.

All recipients must complete a disbursement form when contacted to do so, deliver their scholarship check to the proper office at their institution, and notify ISTS if the scholarship check does not arrive within 30 days of the issue date.

Generally, award checks will be mailed out in early August each year. Recipients who have reached the pay-out timeframe per the scholarship rules will receive an email from ISTS with instructions on how to request the award. Recipients will need to log in to their account at https://aim.applyISTS.net, complete the Disbursement Form (which will confirm home address, institution choice and other information) and provide proof of enrollment for the upcoming academic year. Checks will be made payable to the institution and mailed to the home address entered on the recipient’s ISTS My Profile page.

In the United States, scholarship funds used exclusively for the payment of tuition or textbooks are normally not taxable. The scholarship recipient is responsible for taxes, if any, that may be assessed against his or her scholarship award. We recommend consulting your tax advisor for more guidance. You may also click here to consult IRS Publication 970 for further information.

For additional information regarding the scholarship program click here or call toll free (855) 670-ISTS (4787). Our offices are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Central.

The CHET Advance Scholarship is an annual program offered by the Connecticut State Treasurer's Office to help Connecticut students pay for college.

“With the rising costs of college education outpacing families' efforts to save, it is essential that we provide assistance and raise awareness of the savings options that can help... College should be an attainable and affordable dream for everyone. Our students are the future economic engine of our state and CHET Advance will help them on their way to a productive career.”

Consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing in CHET. Please call toll-free 1-888-799-2438 or click here for a Disclosure Booklet containing this and other information. Read it carefully. Investments in the plan are neither insured nor guaranteed and there is the risk of investment loss.

Before investing in a 529 plan, you should consider whether the state you or your designated beneficiary reside in or have taxable income in has a 529 plan that offers favorable state income tax or other benefits such as financial aid, scholarship funds or protection from creditors that are only available if you invest in that state’s 529 plan. A Connecticut income tax deduction on contributions made to CHET is available to Connecticut taxpayers. Limitations apply. See the Disclosure Booklet for details.